Happy Monday, everyone. OK, yeah there is a football game on Saturday, but Alabama basketball plays Gonzaga tonight in Vegas. We’ll be along with more coverage later, but these guys will be watching.
Planting
themselves in the mix of the chaos of crimson are 11 men, all but one aged 50 or older. You can spot a handful of them by their custom “NO FOGS ALLOWED” shirts, featuring a picture of Coleman Coliseum with a slogan that warns “Football Only Gumps” to tread lightly in the “Plaid Palace” if they’re lacking the energy they have for Saturdays in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The camaraderie first began during COVID-19 under the direction of Richard Edwards, who the group refers to as its “ringleader.” He drives from Huntsville to make every home game. Membership has spiked since the pandemic, especially as Oats has taken a program that once celebrated peaks of Sweet 16s in the 1980s to one that now lives on the cusp of its first-ever national championship.
I may have found my people.
Nick Kelly has an interesting nugget: Counting Steve Sarkisian subbing for Nick Saban in 2020, this will be the 6th straight Iron Bowl featuring a different head coach on one side or the other. It will be the second in five seasons with Auburn sporting an interim coach.
Auburn is in the middle of a coaching search as it looks to find a permanent replacement for Freeze. Tulane’s Jon Sumrall is considered a favorite, but could Durkin get the gig?
Beating Alabama for the first time since 2019 would go a long way toward his candidacy.
Maybe then the streak of a new coaching matchup could be broken by the 2026 Iron Bowl. Or, Auburn will hire someone not named Durkin, and it will be the seventh consecutive fresh coaching battle.
Auburn took Vandy to overtime on the road in their last SEC outing, then feasted on their FCS cupcake over the weekend. Funny enough, since Durkin has taken over the offense has looked much better and the defense much worse. We’ll see if that holds on Saturday, but expect Auburn’s players to do try and make Durkin look good.
Auburn is the first threat to Alabama’s playoff spot. Brigham Young winning the Big 12 and turning that conference into a two-bid league is the next threat. A blowout loss in the SEC Championship is the other landmine the Tide must avoid. All to say Alabama’s got the stickiest path to the playoff of any team listed in this projection. If Kalen DeBoer loses the Iron Bowl, the natives will be more than restless. They’ll be livid.
It’s fair to say that DeBoer is under some pressure on Saturday. A loss would represent a second consecutive November swoon and awful bookends to an otherwise promising season.
The UA sign girl has a sweet ode to Saint Nick.
Nick Saban gave Alabama more than wins. He gave the fanbase peace. In a sport defined by instability, Saban offered certainty. In a world fueled by ego, he offered purpose. And in a time when loyalty is often just a word, he showed everyone what it looks like in action.
Today’s rumor cycles make you appreciate that even more.
So this isn’t just a thank you to Nick Saban for championships. No, it’s more than that.
It’s a thank you for staying when he could have gone.
A thank you for giving Alabama more than a dynasty, he gave it a foundation that never wavered.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s his greatest legacy of all.
Last, Jahmyr Gibbs had himself a day.
All he had was 264 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns.
That’ll do.
That’s about it for today. Have a great week.
Roll Tide.
